Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Griff 07-10-06, 07:34 AM	I was wondering how can you effectivly play a character with inteligence of 18+, what do you do when your character is smarter then you? also what big words are usefull to use in everyday converstions...
High Octane 07-10-06, 07:54 AM	http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=10
Cthulhu3125 07-10-06, 10:07 AM	Just make up words, or procure a list of words of more than 6 syllables and just throw them into every sentence. Don't walk, but ambulate. Don't "talk with" someone, "enter into correspondence" with them. Don't describe things as "complicated", but "anfractuous".
Azezel 07-10-06, 10:14 AM	Or don't. A clever person likely knows that using big words for the sake of big words is pointless and anoying (though this is also a function of Wisdom). The first thing to recognise is that you are not as smart as your character. When you lay a fighter your DM likely does not make you get up and act out every swing of your sword - you probably are not as good a swordsman as your PC. Same same - you are not required to do all the thinking your character does. Ask for INT checks where aplicable.
smoker 07-10-06, 10:22 AM	I was wondering how can you effectivly play a character with inteligence of 18+, what do you do when your character is smarter then you? also what big words are usefull to use in everyday converstions... People that are really smart don't use big words. Big words make you sound less clear. In my experience, the smart people listen more than they talk. And they talk slower.
feartheinvinceblehamster 07-10-06, 10:27 AM	However, by that logic of them speaking slower, it is hard to tell smart tourists from stupid ones, if they both speak slowly... "DO......YOU.....SPEAK.....ENGLISH?"
Watchdog_of_Hades 07-10-06, 10:34 AM	People that are really smart don't use big words. Big words make you sound less clear.Amen.
High Octane 07-10-06, 10:45 AM	People that are really smart don't use big words. Big words make you sound less clear. Thats CHA not INT. True though. High INT characters can use large words, but often enough they are pretty much indistinguishable from your average int schmo until you ask them what the capital of Peru is or ask them to do a math problem in their head or decryot the DaVinci code.
CaineTheInsaine 07-10-06, 11:19 AM	I like the "Harry Potter" method of sounding smart.. make up fake latin. Orcs become Brutus Hominus. Great Wyrm Red Dragons are An elder, dominate member of the crimson family of Reptilius Giaganticus. A wizard is an Practiconer of the Arcanic Arts.. etc. Fake, bad, latin. Live, love. Don't learn it.. 'cause thats real latin..
Bluntpencil2001 07-10-06, 11:44 AM	Thats CHA not INT. True though. High INT characters can use large words, but often enough they are pretty much indistinguishable from your average int schmo until you ask them what the capital of Peru is or ask them to do a math problem in their head or decryot the DaVinci code. The capital of Peru is Lima. And no, I didn't use a search engine. :P But do I know anything useful? Probably not.
stargate525 07-10-06, 11:53 AM	I like the "Harry Potter" method of sounding smart.. make up fake latin. Orcs become Brutus Hominus. Great Wyrm Red Dragons are An elder, dominate member of the crimson family of Reptilius Giaganticus. A wizard is an Practiconer of the Arcanic Arts.. etc. Fake, bad, latin. Live, love. Don't learn it.. 'cause thats real latin.. haha. I should try that. Proceeding fown the turn in the passage is a large natural widening, in which an exceptionally monumental specimen of a Crimsonus Draco Nobilicus has made its domicile. Fortunately for us, there appears to be a location of underrated plating between the Domucus Clavicus and his right Scellera Polatera. If we can apply enough sharp force trauma to the area we might be able to puncture the cartiloid artery leading to the cranial chamber, thus rendering him powerless. In laymens speech: around the corner there's a dragon's lair. He has a weakspot on the right side of his neck, and if you stab him there he'll bleed to death.
Sinaz 07-10-06, 12:35 PM	However, by that logic of them speaking slower, it is hard to tell smart tourists from stupid ones, if they both speak slowly... "DO......YOU.....SPEAK.....ENGLISH?" You tell the stupid ones because they keep repeating it louder and louder. They fail to reply because they do not understand you, they are not DEAF! Intelligence determines how well your character learns and reasons. ... Appraise, Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Forgery, Knowledge, Search, and Spellcraft checks. These are the skills that have Intelligence as their key ability. So, playing a character of high INT mostly means they are studious and intuitive. Your PC should always be curious about the things they discover. He'll always want to make an educated guess about the nature and value of an object. He'll always be the first to attempt to read the ancient inscriptions. He'll be fascinated by the craftmanship and workings of strange devices, and spend several rounds attempting to reverse engineer it for the benefit of the party. He'll immediately scrutinize any suspicious documents, or know off hand which documents it would be prudent to procure when facing beauracracy. He'll have lots of knowledge skills, so he can constantly ask the DM for knowledge checks when the party is having trouble 'figuring it out.' He also will be the one who pays attention to details during search checks. A good way to roleplay an intellegent character would be to constantly play devil's advocate with most of the significant decisions and arguments the party comes up with (that is, take up the opposite point of view just for arguments sake.) But, the intent should not be to obnoxiously annoy the party leader or whoever came up with the idea, but to make sure that person has thought it through thoroughly and has a confident resolve to the decision. So, be ready to graciously concede to the person when they've shown that thier idea is sound and well thought out. He will not be the person who tries to impress others with big words. People who use big words to impress others, are, in character, insecure about thier lack of intellegence when interacting with others. He will also not be the person who acts obnoxious and talks down to others for not being intellegent. Think about the charismatic intellegent characters from movies. Steal thier quarky and lovable personality traits.
phelanarcetus 07-10-06, 01:08 PM	I ran my wizard's Int in two ways. First, I had approximately a bajillion knowledge skills. At each and every opportunity, I took advantage of them as well as straight Intelligence checks. This sort of behavior covers the "knowing a lot" part of being a high Int character. The party learned that they could rely on me to identify that demon and at least some of its strengths and weaknesses (legitimately, from the DM looking at the entry, not from me cracking a book open). We played online, and I had set up so I could roll all my knowledge skills at once, each time I had to analyze something, which was fairly often. Secondly, I took on the role of executive officer. I was always organizing things, keeping the party loot list, and very big on the planning part of an adventure (or encounter) we were preparing for. I gathered information from research and knowledge skills, and applied logic to all the information we had available. Made it clear I was thinking logically, approaching a problem in a methodical, sensible way. I didn't try for big words or obfuscated meaning. I did tend towards proper grammar, and I did make it clear when I wasn't certain of something.
BeginnerDM 07-10-06, 01:40 PM	My favorite way is the idiot savant method, just your regular old plumber type, doesn't use his brain often, but once and awhile he says something that makes your typical genious turn his head and say "Huh?" I once had a priest of thoth who had 19 int and 18 wisdom (the class got bonuses to those stats as they gained levels in 2nd edition) I loved the guy, until one DM through puzzle after puzzle at me, and when I solved some it wsa fine but a couple stumped me and he threw his hands up and said "Your character is a genius figure it out" and I said "Well your PC is charming, what happened to you?" and we walked away and never spoke again (It got a bit more loud than that but thats all thats needed here) Point is you shouldn't have to play your bonuses, if anything for smart people maybe making an int check the DM can pass you "clues" As a side note: I watched this show on a guy from the Mensa society who is one of the smartest men in the united states of america (not the most educated just smartest) he's a bouncer in one of the states, has a bunch of knife wounds, and is one tough customer. When he talked he sounded like a motor cycle gang member... but his raw ability to understand some very complex problems was mind boggling.. (For most of mensa people too)
rogue_lettuce 07-10-06, 02:52 PM	My advice in RPing such a character is that there is a time and a place for big words. Sure, I know what "discombobulate" or "utilitarian" mean... But do I use them all the time? No. 1) Don't stick in long words randomly. If you're walk, WALK, don't ambulate. 2) You might also stroll, wander, and so on. People with higher IQs generally use more words on a regular basis, but they don't have to be long ones. 3) Big words should only be used in the correct context. If you're discussing the moral implications of an act with the party rogue, you might want to use long ethics-related words. If you're walking down the street or eating bread and cheese in the tavern, you might NOT. 4) You might hesitate sometimes, and say things like "how to put this simply..." or "now, how should I phrase this...?" to show that you're 'dumbing down' what's going on in your head for other people to understand you.
KurenaiYami 07-10-06, 03:00 PM	You know what's a big word you could use? Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanocon iosis. Enjoy that.
Raven Dark 07-10-06, 03:27 PM	I routinely play genius level characters (maybe half of my total character pool). Do you know how I play them? The same way I play all the other, non-genius characters, like normal people. I usually invest in a lot of Knowledge skills and then make it clear to my friends and DM that my character has a lot of book smarts, but is otherwise jsut like everyone else--including the ability to make stupid mistakes. A close friend of mine can do extended mathematical calculations in his head faster than I ever will be able to. He is only in high school and helps me with my college level calculus. In nearly every other aspect of his life, he can be a real idiot.
Griff 07-10-06, 03:36 PM	4) You might hesitate sometimes, and say things like "how to put this simply..." or "now, how should I phrase this...?" to show that you're 'dumbing down' what's going on in your head for other people to understand you. I'll be using that one for sure. So far the character is a wizard/rogue. Super Int. good Cha average wisdom She's got a thousand spare skill points which will be going into fun things like every knowledge and craft skill ever invented, disable device and seach and whatnot. I plan on playing the craft skills kind of like a "oooh i think i could make something like that." rather then actually have had any formal training. Also the backstory (as developed so far) is such that she doesn't know who she is. A kind of long term amnesia. So it will be fun to have knowledge she doesn't know she know's if that makes sense... Im also thinking of building a plethora of languages but play it almost as though she is simply translating it for herself for the first time. (anyone seen the movie the 13th warrior) have her join in the conversation with the dwarves after a few nights, start to converse in elven after a few days in the elven village etc... find a book written in Draconic (whick she can speak) but just RP a bit of a "translation" ('this word here, its either come or stay but the context its in... i think it means more like "don't leave"') how much of a grasp on tactics do you think would be reasonable? and how do you incorporate that in?
rogue_lettuce 07-10-06, 04:11 PM	how much of a grasp on tactics do you think would be reasonable? and how do you incorporate that in? This guy probably INVENTED the phalanx. And maybe Blitzkrieg too. However, the intelligence is only 18. (I know I'm saying ONLY the highest stat normally achievable by a human) What that means is that he hasn't got a great enough understanding of tactics to incorporate, say, Chaos theory/the Butterfly effect into his tactics, but he can probably come up with the soundest battleplan you've ever heard of, taking into account terrain, wind, weather, light conditions, and so on. And moreover, he can change his plan on the fly - if this doesn't work, he doesn't just run away or carry on hopelessly, he goes to plan B straight away - which is probably equally well thought-out
kelvinaw273 07-10-06, 04:18 PM	Two words: Think ahead. If you plan ahead, get lots of knowledge skills and check them regularly for everything, you'll find the right combo of being smart. Take the trouble to do things the long way round, so that you can do them right.
FeceMan 07-10-06, 04:22 PM	Or don't. A clever person likely knows that using big words for the sake of big words is pointless and anoying (though this is also a function of Wisdom). Took the words outta my mouth, you did.
Sinaz 07-10-06, 04:44 PM	Also the backstory (as developed so far) is such that she doesn't know who she is. A kind of long term amnesia. So it will be fun to have knowledge she doesn't know she know's if that makes sense... Ooooh. Amnesia... now that's a new one. :rolleyes: Though you may think that clever, it is incredibly cliche... and I bet you that your DM will probably think you're just being lazy about creating a backstory. On the other hand, you could work with your DM and develop a real reason for your amnesia (which, if you do a little research, would be a sort of 'source amnesia' - where you remember or know things, but do not know why or how you know them.) The problem with this, is that you will have to show a lot of faith in your DM, as eurekas and such will almost unilaterally be supplied by the DM. And if I can just give one last bit of advice if you stick with this background... play it like Jason Bourne. Don't act dumbfounded with yourself whenever you do something within the confines of this amnesia. Instead, own it at the moment, and reflect on it later. It'll just be a better characterization then rolling your eyes up and going "gosh... I wonder how I knew that...? That's weird, right guys?" That is... play it like you need to know about your past, and the things don't surprise you, but instead frustrate you when they reveal telling knowledge, but don't give you direct access to the memories you really want to unlock. Good luck, despite my comments about the clicheness, I still think it could be a cool character.
Griff 07-10-06, 05:15 PM	Ooooh. Amnesia... now that's a new one. :rolleyes: Though you may think that clever, it is incredibly cliche... and I bet you that your DM will probably think you're just being lazy about creating a backstory. . Yeah your probably right you know :( I was thinking something along the lines of a reincarnate gone bad. then essentialy Re-living her life untill this point. Your right about me needing to speak to the DM about this too. And find out just how many character hooks she wants to impale me on at a later date. plus theres an identity crisis waiting to happen when Winter the female human wizard discovers she used to be Rolf Orcslasher the Dwarf Barbarian... OK maybe not quite to that extent. ooooh two lives to figure out now. can't wait :D
AlanBruce 07-10-06, 05:35 PM	The capital of Peru is Lima. And no, I didn't use a search engine. :P But do I know anything useful? Probably not. Beat me to it!
Amon_WinterfallIV 07-10-06, 06:07 PM	Int of 16,18, or 20 isn't what I'd call an insane Int score. The way to play an Int score higher (but not far higher) than your own, is rather simple-- You take a longer time OOC thinking about a matter IC. Your character might well have deduced something in 6 seconds, but it took you 2 minutes to come up with it. Since most people do not actually spend 6 seconds coming up with something to do IC, you can play a character with a higher INT score than you have. You can also team up with other intelligent people, and form a consensus. Four intelligent people collaborating on a project can also produce an effective INT well above 18. Now, when your INT moves from extraordinary to superhuman (25+), you are in a jam. It's not feasible to grind out much of what your character would notice. I generally use "25" as the Earth's world record in a matter. INT 25 has an IQ of 225, can instantly calculate math problems up to four digits, and is a fair match for someone with a master's degree in a field he's untrained in. INT 25+ will understand the technical points of many things, but would probably not sound like a techie, except to another techie (or they have low Charisma). People with High INT have a large vocabulary, High CHA's will employ it forcefully (words such as proclaim, ordain, defy, assert.) or to perfectly match what they want to say (Did not see, but "observed", "spotted", or "sighted"). Low CHA's will confuse and contort dialogues with unessential chatterings, imprecise or garbled definitions, redundant metaphors and elongated structure. When in Doubt, as the DM, as he might be clever enough to give you clues as to how to play (Or how he wants you to play) a high INT score.
Zaku 07-10-06, 06:38 PM	You know what's a big word you could use? Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanocon iosis. Enjoy that. Ah yes, a favorite childhood word....seriously, it was.
Bane 07-10-06, 08:12 PM	Int of 16,18, or 20 isn't what I'd call an insane Int score. The way to play an Int score higher (but not far higher) than your own, is rather simple-- You can also team up with other intelligent people, and form a consensus. Four intelligent people collaborating on a project can also produce an effective INT well above 18. Now, when your INT moves from extraordinary to superhuman (25+), you are in a jam. It's not feasible to grind out much of what your character would notice. I generally use "25" as the Earth's world record in a matter. INT 25 has an IQ of 225, can instantly calculate math problems up to four digits, and is a fair match for someone with a master's degree in a field he's untrained in. When in Doubt, as the DM, as he might be clever enough to give you clues as to how to play (Or how he wants you to play) a high INT score. A fair match for a master's degree? I think you overestimate the power of intelligence, and underestimate the value of experience. I have a fairly high IQ, it helps me with mathematics, logic, deduction, and a slew of things in that vein. When my car breaks down, there are very few things I know how to fix. I can put gas in, change a tire, and that's about it. The power of experience is much greater than intelligence. Of course, when intelligence and experience get together, you can get some really impressive things going. Like my uncle fixing code in a programming language he didn't know. He knew enough raw programming to understand how the task needed to be laid out, and he could deduce enough of the language to change existing code. He wouldn't have been able to write the code in that language, but he could fix it.
Ragix 07-10-06, 09:06 PM	Being born with the blood of dragonkind running rampant in my veins, I was gifted with a vast intellect that dwarfs many of the people that I encounter in my day to day activities. They fail to even fathom that I am more that just a scaly, winged, magically-endowed version of themselves. However, there are numerous denizens of this wet and windy planet of our who do not posess such wonderous intellectual abilities. My suggestion to them is to do some reading in the various accesories that D&D provides, especially in the areas that their characters specialize. So, if your cleric is adept in the studies of demonkind, pick up the Fiendish Codex 1. If your wizard is a master of that which should never exist beyond the void, flip through the first 6 chapters of Lords of Madness. And for all of the D&D participants with "small pockets," visit the library and read some books on fantasy. Reading is the key to knowledge. And with said key, you can unlock a whole new plane of existance for your party to play on (in regards to their mind). Thanks a lot for listening.
Damior 07-10-06, 09:32 PM	I dont find it hard to roleplay conversations when I'm playing an intelligent character for 2 reasons 1. I am exeptionally intelligent in real life 2. the majority of High-intelligence characters I have do not get into many conversations. They are much too arrogant to dumb down their speech, and are generally condesending to those of lesser intellect. Of course, thats also partly due to the fact that hes a grey elf.
TheMeanOne 07-11-06, 07:26 PM	A score of 18INT should probably put a character in the 98th percentile (as far as IQ goes), so that is classified as 'genius' in our society. Truth is, most of us know people this intelligent (Students do standardized IQ tests in grade 3 here, and my IQ puts me in the 98th percentile, as well as a lot of people I know). Being in the top two most intelligent people out of a group of 100 usually won't seem unrealistically smart - the ability to learn things quickly and reason well doesn't make a person intimidatingly clever. Just clever. But honestly I think there's been some good advise here - ask for intelligence and knowledge checks when you think it's appropriate, and don't be afraid to take the time OOC to come up with a reasonable choice for your character. I once played a charismatic warlock, and I could be one of the most socially awkward people you'll ever meet. It worked out fine. That's part of what makes it "role-playing," isn't it?
tharivol266 07-11-06, 09:21 PM	People that are really smart don't use big words. Big words make you sound less clear. In my experience, the smart people listen more than they talk. And they talk slower. i consider myself to be smart and i dont speak in "big words" constantly. but i do consistantly use them where they are more appropriate the a smaller synonym....but i spend alot of time enhancing others' vocabulary. edit: also use my personal faorite word whenever possible. antidisestablishmentarianism= the opinion that there should be a singular national church. originally coined in the roman era. but once you say it a few times you'll love it too.
Amon_WinterfallIV 07-12-06, 03:29 AM	A score of 18INT should probably put a character in the 98th percentile (as far as IQ goes), so that is classified as 'genius' in our society. Truth is, most of us know people this intelligent (Students do standardized IQ tests in grade 3 here, and my IQ puts me in the 98th percentile, as well as a lot of people I know). Being in the top two most intelligent people out of a group of 100 usually won't seem unrealistically smart - the ability to learn things quickly and reason well doesn't make a person intimidatingly clever. Just clever. Cool. That means that I'm 18 INT! :) . However, I'm personally more selective about INT scores. Consider that 3d6 = 18 only 1:216 times, so only this proportion of humans actually have 18 INT. Less than half of a percent have 18 INT, and just for continuity, 20 INT is one in 20,000, 22 INT is one in 2,000,000, and one in 200,000,000 people has a 24 INT. According to my model, I have only 16 INT :weep: I could really use those skill points. Again, I consider 25 to be the "World Record", so scores between 18-25 are possible, but uncommon. INT 25 is powerful stuff. Its a +7 on all Int skills, or a equal to a more ordnary guy with max ranks in a skill. By D+D mechanics, yes, equal to a great deal of schooling, maybe even a Master's degree (although that's not definite)
High Octane 07-12-06, 12:42 PM	Well according to that I would have 17 int or so, possibly 18. Too bad my stats suck otherwise.
Lazzar 07-12-06, 05:02 PM	One thing I read once was advice for playing dragons (as a DM). You could use a little bit of meta gaming knowledge in determining your actions, as the character you are playing is smarter than you are, they would have more knowledge and IQ and would come up with some cleaver ideas you may not. It a way to represent their superior inteligence. Laz
Atirakis 07-12-06, 05:28 PM	People that are really smart don't use big words. Big words make you sound less clear. In my experience, the smart people listen more than they talk. And they talk slower. No wisdom was ever gained while speaking.
R.I.P GMFGD 07-13-06, 07:02 PM	I have a 14th lvl Elan Psion with a 31 int (started with 18+3 from lvls+6 headband+4 inherant) The way he acts is that he is to smart to deal with such things I think about all plans listen and then go over make modifications and say well, i believe we may go now. In fact he has only had two true conversations, the one that got him in the party and one with a dragon.
Silverthumb128 07-14-06, 04:04 AM	Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanocon iosis. Enjoy that. And just what is the save DC on this inhaled disease? That dust is bad for ya. ;)
turalisj 07-14-06, 04:39 AM	Here's a question, diffrent but similar. How do you play a 17int character with only 11 cha/wis? RIght now I seem to be ******* everyone in the group off with said character.... >.>
Tormsskull 07-14-06, 02:48 PM	As has been previously said, you don't have to use big words, but if you want to play that kind of character, here are some suggestions: First, practice it out of game. I do this in real life to people when I am trying to BS them, so I am pretty good at it. Plus I am an avid reader, writer, and long time MUD (text based game) player so words come natural to me. The idea is to say the same thing you normally would, but you use different words for emphasis. f/x: "I think we so go talk to the cleric because he knows a lot about religion," can also be said as "I believe the most beneficial venture that our entourage could undertake would be to pursue the efficient and masterful religious knowledge of the cleric." People know what you are saying, but you come off as book-ish, which can be very great for role-playing. I don't reccomend making up your own words, but you can use real words and slightly stretch them to fit your purpose.
FeceMan 07-14-06, 02:49 PM	And just what is the save DC on this inhaled disease? That dust is bad for ya. ;) That the one with the volcanic ash?
Zendu 07-14-06, 08:33 PM	I think the mechanic for this is allready there, with all of the knowledge checks you should be making. Also dont forget, you can roll INT checks to solve puzzles, remember obsure facts etc etc. Int is the morse elusive skill to play, STR DEX and CON are all painfully ovious and used often. Even cha and will have many skills (and one save) assosiated with them. But int you have to make work for you, but it can be rewarding. Also, you should bring this up with your dm, if he agress that one of your abilities is underused, he might remember to ask for more int checks.
tharivol266 07-14-06, 09:30 PM	A fair match for a master's degree? I think you overestimate the power of intelligence, and underestimate the value of experience. I have a fairly high IQ, it helps me with mathematics, logic, deduction, and a slew of things in that vein. When my car breaks down, there are very few things I know how to fix. I can put gas in, change a tire, and that's about it. The power of experience is much greater than intelligence. Of course, when intelligence and experience get together, you can get some really impressive things going. Like my uncle fixing code in a programming language he didn't know. He knew enough raw programming to understand how the task needed to be laid out, and he could deduce enough of the language to change existing code. He wouldn't have been able to write the code in that language, but he could fix it. i agree with you and its the same way with me. but i have to add that if someone gave me a car and i had the interest in automechanics after taking it apart once i could probably put it back together and be able to fix the mechanical parts of it and many other cars. edit: does any one else find it humorous that many of the people who are advising on this thread can probably claim and back that they are in the 98th percentile? by the very nature of this thread we are defying the statistics....okay not really since this isn't a random sample of people but you all know what i mean.
FeceMan 07-14-06, 10:23 PM	I loved the guy, until one DM through puzzle after puzzle at me, and when I solved some it wsa fine but a couple stumped me and he threw his hands up and said "Your character is a genius figure it out" and I said "Well your PC is charming, what happened to you?" and we walked away and never spoke again (It got a bit more loud than that but thats all thats needed here) That is beyond awesome.
WolfHati 07-15-06, 12:56 AM	You know what's a big word you could use? Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanocon iosis. Enjoy that. Being smart doesn't mean knowing words like that, it means being able to decipher that it means getting your breathing f*ed up by dust from lava and rocks pulverized in a volcanic explosion without previously knowing the meaning of the word itself.
tharivol266 07-15-06, 02:25 PM	its not really a hard word to decipher though. lets break it down. Pneumon-dealing with breathing. o ultramicroscopic-very small piece. silico-from silicon which is a natural substance. volcano- from a volcano(well duh part) con iosis-generic medical term in diseases, symptoms, infections etc.
EternalZzyx 07-15-06, 03:11 PM	I would recommend memorizing some words from appropriate languages, such as Tolkin's Quenya or Sindarin (or even something unrelated to the normal races, such as Klingon, good for a dwarf substitute...) and just sprinkle your character's speech with them, even if they do not know that language, it is possible that they have picked up one or two words, even a bit of Latin if you can manage it (for some reason it is how I see dragons talking... and it fits nicely with draconic being used as the 'language of magic') of course, you could just go for on the spot Latin sounding gibberish, up to you. just remember there are as many ways to play intelligent characters as there are highly intelligent characters. They may speak quickly, as if their mouth is trying to keep up with their brain, they may on the other hand, speak slowly, with economy of words, getting their meaning across as simply and efficiently as possible, they might stay with one subject, they may drift wherever their mind takes them, intelligence expresses its self in countless ways. and not once do I resort to bragging about my own intelligence, fancy that... edit: one last thing, there are generally two camps with intelligent people, those who care, and those who don't.
tharivol266 07-16-06, 12:12 PM	just remember there are as many ways to play intelligent characters as there are highly intelligent characters. They may speak quickly, as if their mouth is trying to keep up with their brain, they may on the other hand, speak slowly, with economy of words, getting their meaning across as simply and efficiently as possible, they might stay with one subject, they may drift wherever their mind takes them, intelligence expresses its self in countless ways. then there are those who resort to all of those habits as conflicting as they seem. i for one talk very rapidly to myself sometimes skipping entire parts of sentences so that anyone who is listening to me gets confused but it helps me work things out(along with flicking fingers and drawing things in the air[ like when im doing math mentally sometimes i will hold up and hand and move my fingers like im using a calcutlator]) and i probably look really goofy but when i talk to other people i generally speak slower and "delicatly" (best word for it) and when im focussing on a problem im very one track mind but in general conversation ill make alot of logic leaps. like i was talking to my girlfriend once about thunderstorms then i immediatly went on to why i like cats better than dogs without talking through the gap. how i went through it was: t-storm>memory of when my sisters and i huddled up against our old dog for comfort during a storm when we were little>one of our current dogs who is terrified of thunder>how stupid that dog is>cats are so less annoying than dogs. all in about 2 seconds. i would also recommend aving a notebook thats the character's journal ig and have notes written in a personal shorthand so that you know what it means and everyone else needs to make a decipher script check.
Amon_WinterfallIV 07-17-06, 05:59 AM	Here's a question, diffrent but similar. How do you play a 17int character with only 11 cha/wis? RIght now I seem to be ******* everyone in the group off with said character.... >.> 11 is a slightly above average Charisma and Wisdom score--it's not a low score at all. I'd recommend a dose of geekiness and nerdiness, but under control and not dominiant. You might use large words and occasionally digress (badly) off topic, but your are socially compent and have a good deal of common sense. I've known people with 16 Int and 4 Wis *shudders*
DrakoShade 07-17-06, 10:06 AM	When dealing with an intelligent character, I tend to look at things like this: What language does the character think in? The languages spoken are one thing, but the language of thought itself is a different beast. I tend to hold the opinion that my highest-INT characters don't think in a language at all. Thus, when forming their thoughts and actions, I start with images-- colors, smells, tactile sensations, music, and flavors. From there, the character translates his thoughts into a language only when he wishes to express them to others, in which case he has several languages to choose from. If he wants to describe a piece of art in its greatest details, he'll do so in Elven or Celestial. If, instead, he wants to talk about the myriad ways in which he wants to make somebody suffer, he might pick Orcish or Undercommon, or even Abyssal. It leads for more diversity in how the character speaks (although, since I don't know any of those languages, it all gets translated to Common OOC.) It also automatically lends itself to the character speaking slowly and pausing during a conversation, giving a silent equivalent of the "How do I phrase this?" that was suggested earlier in the thread.